Gift giving guide – for Men

Every year I swear that I won’t be knitting gifts again and then somehow I manage to do it. Since time is of the essence (you have just two months!!), I thought I would share some of my favorite quick knits for the dudes in our life.

Hats

Striped Hat pattern available online or at the shop

Hats are a fast knit. Although they generally require two or three sets of needles, they can be done in just a day or two. My hubby loves a simple beanie hat. The striped hat in Hand Dyed Worsted from Blue Sky Alpacas does just the trick. AND you can easily use the new Swan’s Island organic merino for this pattern or even mix and match the two yarns. Play with the color combos a bit but remember that most dudes will request “black, grey, and navy” if you ask them for color direction.

For the more hipster guys in your life, I love a good slouchy ribbed hat. Check out my quick pattern from this post last year.

Scarves

Brooklyn Tweed Cinder - available online or at the shop

Micah will tell you that the general rule with a scarf is to knit it as long as the person is tall. For a dude’s scarf, this can be a lot of work. Given the timeframe that you are working with, I would recommend knitting in an aran, chunky or superchunky weight to get it done faster. This aran weight scarf pattern by Gina Waters has you cast on for the length. I like this because it allows me to easily create vertical stripes on the scarf. It looks cool but doesn’t require a lot of work.

If cables go quickly for you, I would recommend the Cinder pattern. It is done in bulky weight yarn, is reversible and works up fast! The Sublime Chunky Tweed is tweedy (guys seem to like this) and is super soft.

Socks

Photo courtesy of Purl Soho

Not that I recommend this, but you can actually make a pair of thick socks in 24 hours. I did it once. They were sport weight. If you jump to DK or Worsted, you are probably cutting that time down to 18-20 hours of knitting. Since guys have no need for lace on their socks, do it simple. Pick a nice luxury yarn and knit in ribbing! Let the yarn do the work for you. Need a basic pattern? Purl Soho to the rescue! They have a pattern called “Men’s Socks for Giving Away.” Sounds like what you need, right? To top it off, it is worked in DK weight. yay! Try the Miss Babs Northumbria DK for a hand dyed option or Shepherd’s Wool DK for a soft merino option. If this guy is going to destroy these socks, I recommend Berroco Vintage DK but definitely include the two colors to fancy them up a bit.

Don’t have time for DK weight? Check out the book Knits Men Want for this basic sock pattern by Jared Flood done in worsted weight. Grab a hank of Neighborhood Fiber Co (just in!) for a luxury hand dyed pair or a ball of Ella Rae Superwash for a pair he can abuse. Dragonfly Fibers BFL would also be super durable! By the way, if you knit for guys a lot, this is hands down the best book out there for reliable simple patterns that they will actually wear.

Photo by Jared Flood

Sweaters

Now if you haven’t listened to anything that I said about timelines and deadlines and shortness of time and such, then you might still be thinking about knitting a sweater. Can I convince you to do one without sleeves? An argyle vest perhaps? No? Still want to knit a sweater? Well at least shoot for bulky yarn! Check out the Devon pattern in the Norah Gaughan Men bookle

t by Berroco. It calls for Peruvia Quick and US10 and 11 needles. If you are going to get this done, you have to be on atleast a #10!

Photo courtesy of Berroco. Pattern found in NG Men and available at the shop

My teacher started a knitting/crocheting/etc. club. We call it the Crafting Crew. My teacher knits herself. She wants to knit fingerless gloves for her daughter. My teacher thought it wouldbe good to start the club because Christmas is comingup.